Americans Are Having Less and Less Sex, but STD Rates Are on the Rise

STD contraction has hit an all-time high, while rates at which people have sex continue to decline.

6 months ago

While the rates at which Americans have sex have been steadily declining, STD rates are on the rise. In 2017, rates of gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia all climbed significantly, according to the CDC. A new article in The Atlantic investigates these two seemingly-contradictory trends.

The likely answer, as director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention Gail Bolan told The Atlantic, has to do with Americans having riskier sex. Two main culprits are condomless sex, rates of which are on the rise, and the opioid crisis, sexual behaviors associated with which put people at greater risk of contracting STDs. Another possible factor is continual cuts in funding for public health and all manners of prevention and treatment programs.